


As Days go by the Night's on Fire

by JuweWright



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Voldemort Wins, Angst, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Insecurity, Other, References to Depression, Songfic, Suicidal Thoughts, War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-13
Updated: 2019-03-13
Packaged: 2019-11-16 15:42:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18097265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JuweWright/pseuds/JuweWright
Summary: Voldemort won and all those involved with the Order and Dumbledore’s Army must run for their lives. Luna ends up being the one setting out on a rescue mission to save a devastated and broken George Weasley.





	As Days go by the Night's on Fire

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Sing Me a Rare Volume 3. 
> 
> Song Prompt – Hurricane, 30 Seconds To Mars
> 
> There's an audio-file where you can listen to this story as a podfic. Link above the first chapter.

Go to [ PODFIC ](https://www.dropbox.com/s/jibj9sunzwpt042/As%20Days%20Go%20By%20The%20Night%27s%20On%20Fire%20-%20JuweWright.wav?dl=0)

Outside, somebody was screaming. It was a high wail, full of pain that increased in volume, then suddenly broke off into silence. Another day. Another death. The bodies lined the streets as if some unknown epidemic had broken out. It was much worse than that.

Luna had stood and watched as they had carried Harry’s lifeless body out of the woods. She had stood and hoped against all hope that he would just somehow survive this. And she had seen that the prophecy had been right, when their lines had parted to let Lord Voldemort through. There was, it seemed, a chance to survive with just a seventh of your soul left. And Harry Potter, the boy who had survived the killing curse when he’d first faced the Dark Lord unarmed, was dead.

She didn’t remember how she had gotten out exactly. There had been a hand on her elbow, a sharp crack, and then she’d been somewhere in the Scottish Highlands and Neville had been next to her, uttering a never-ending series of curses.

They had kept moving. And they had stumbled into Ginny and Dean, with whom they had set up a temporary camp in an abandoned London underground station. They didn’t know who else had made it. Hermione was dead. So was Professor McGonagall. The news had spread fast. Voldemort liked to brag about his achievements.

Ginny had managed to contact most of her family. Only this morning, a pigeon had found its way into the tunnels and dropped a note onto her head that contained a few lines of gibberish and self-incinerated after reading. The girl’s face had lit up when she’d read it and explained it was phonetic egyptian-arabic and said “Percy and Bill safe” in Molly’s handwriting.

Now, she was broody again. Luna knew all-too-well why. Nobody had heard anything from George since the final battle. She had left her and Dean down in the station and had gone into the tiny derelict house that served as an entrance to their hiding place to keep watch on her own. 

The door banged against the wall and Neville blew in. A storm was raging in the city and his dark coat was drenched and his woollen hat looked soggy. He extricated an almost dry “Daily Prophet” from inside his shirt and threw it onto the table.

“They have officially announced the hunt now!” he said. “We should get out of here and quick.”

She nodded wordlessly, then followed him down to the station to let the others know. 

 

~*~*~

 

“I’m not coming”, Ginny said, arms crossed in front of her chest. 

Dean sighed and tried to pull her hands apart.

“Seriously, Gin, don’t be crazy!” he begged.

“I am not coming. My brother’s out there. He’s lost his twin! I need to find him and get him out of here!”

Neville shook his head.

“We have all told you over and over again: It’s too dangerous for you to go to Diagon Alley. They will recognize you! You were Harry’s girlfriend after all!”   


“I don’t care! I am getting George!”

Her eyes were swimming with tears. She knew that walking into wizard-territory would be her death sentence. Yet, she was a Gryffindor. She had to do the right thing. She had to be  brave. Even if it was senseless and stupid and suicidal! Luna wanted to shake her, tell her not to be stubborn, to save herself. But she knew it wouldn’t help. Ginny was broken enough after losing Harry to not care anymore if she lived or died. 

“Let me go, then!” Neville proposed. “I’ll go and get him out. If he’s there, that is. Which is far from a given.”

“Yeah, Neville and I can go!” Dean exclaimed, readying his wand. 

Luna sighed. Gryffindors! Why were they all the same?

“I’m going” she said, grabbing her coat from where it had been lying across one of the benches. “And I am not leaving this up to discussion, because I am the only one who stands a chance with this.

Dean, you’re Muggle-born. They will have his details and if they catch you, I don’t even want to imagine what they will do to you.”

She turned to Ginny.

“You’re the chosen one’s chosen one and Neville is the boy who killed a Horcrux, so even if Voldemort overlooked him before, he’s never going to overlook him again. I was never more than a small figure in the background that nobody cared much about. I can make it.”

The three Gryffindors seemed to contemplate her words for a while. Then they agreed that she was right. Of course she was. She was a Ravenclaw. Sound reasoning was what she was made for. 

 

~*~*~

 

Diagon Alley was swarming with Death Eaters and those who had decided it was safer to fall in with them than to openly oppose them. The usual hustle-and-bustle of the street had changed. The air was full of fear. It was almost palatable.

Luna had hidden her blonde hair under a woollen hat. If anyone was looking for her, they’d probably look for her most distinctive feature. She also wore a pair of fake glasses. Striding quickly and purposefully, she marched unperturbed until she had reached the small alley that led to the backdoor of Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes. The shop windows were broken. Rocks lay amidst the potions and sweets on display. She quickly vanished into the darkness, turned a corner and found the door she was looking for. Not bothering to try the handle, she blasted it open with an alohomora, then checked the threshold for wards. There were none, which was worrying. Her feet fell light, soundless, as she walked through the storage room and up the stairs to the twin’s flat. She had only been up here once, when she had visited the shop and George had urged her to stay for dinner. It had been a fabulous evening. She remembered how much they had laughed and how light and happy she had felt, how welcome she had been. They had had some wine and at the end of the night, George had kissed her good night. On the lips. It had felt good and she’d replayed the moment in her head time and time again in the following months, knowing that it had just happened on a whim, that he had meant nothing by it. It had still made her feel warm inside to remember how he’d stroked her hair and how his eyes had sparkled when she’d finally stepped into the fireplace. His last words had been “see you soon”. But then, the war had come. 

The flat had never been tidy, but when she stepped into it now, it was a mess. There was a thick layer of dust on every surface. Empty liquor bottles had been dropped wherever they had run out. The air was thick with the rancid smell of somebody who had not showered for at least a week.

Luna sometimes imagined feelings as colours. The Weasley’s flat was the dark-grey colour of despair and lonelyness and she gulped when the feeling hit her like a wave. 

“George?” she asked into the dimness, half-hoping he’d not be there, that he’d already heard the news and fled.

A noise from the living room. She quickly sealed the door with a few hasty wards, then made her way through torn-up copies of The Daily Prophet, a few potions-books and food-wrappers and stepped into the room.

George was sitting curled up in one of the arm-chairs. He looked thin, much skinnier than when she’d last seen him. His hollow eyes met hers and it took a few seconds before he recognized his visitor.

“Luna” he croaked, trying to get up out of the seat, but losing his balance again and falling back into it, giggling.

It was a terrifying sight: George, the prankster, the fun, clever, incredibly witty and friendly inventor and entrepreneur, degraded to this heap of helpless sad drunkenness. 

“George, they issued an order to arrest all members of the Order and Dumbledore’s army. We need to get out of here. Ginny wanted to come get you, but I told her it wasn’t safe.”

George looked at her blankly, unperturbed.

“You’re a good person, Luna. Has anybody ever told you that?”

She contemplated his words for a moment. Actually, no, nobody had told her she was good. Several people had told her she was crazy or weird. Some had told her she was smart and artful. But nobody had told her she was good and she wasn’t entirely sure if she still was. She might have been good. Before the war. Before Voldemort had started to pull her life to shreds. Before he had killed Harry. She didn’t feel particularly ‘good’ now. She felt like somebody who’d give an arm and a leg if that meant they’d be able to avenge the death of all the decent people who had fallen.

“We need to get out of here” she said again and looked around. “I can’t take you when you’re drunk like this. You’ll need to walk and not make a scene. Do you have any head-clear-potion stocked?”

He swayed in his seat and snickered.

“Did you hear that, Fred. She’s so wise, our Luna. So very sensible.”

She shuddered. He was talking to his dead twin. As if Fred were in the room with him. As if he was still around. She couldn’t sense the presence of a ghost in the room, but there were more things in the world than could be explained rationally. If he believed Fred’s spirit was still talking to him, she wouldn’t try to convince him otherwise.

“I don’t think I will come with you, Luna” George said calmly. “And I don’t want to be sober. Because when I am sober, I can’t hear him any more. When I am sober, I am all alone. And I can’t stand it. I can’t bear it.”

He shook his head slowly.

“I feel like half of me is missing. Gone. I am not a full person any more, Luna. I want… I just want to sit here. Have them come. Wait until it’s over.”

Luna stared at him. She had expected there to be grief. She had expected there to be pain. She had seen her mother die. She had silently cried over Harry every single night since his death - hiding her own pain to make it easier for Ginny. After all he’d been Ginny’s boyfriend, which seemed to count for more than being somebody’s friend somehow. She knew how desperation felt. But she had not expected how terrifying it must be to lose a twin. Fred and George had been an inseparable entity. And having to hide without having friends and family to cling to and a stable environment, grief had grabbed hold of George’s heart and clasped it in a hard and relentless grip that made it shrivel and dry.

Outside, somebody shouted. And Luna was suddenly aware that they didn’t have enough time to work through this, didn’t have enough time to argue, didn’t have enough time for anything. She pulled out her wand.

“All right. This is going to be nasty and I am sorry for it” she announced. 

George’s bloodshot eyes tried to focus on hers. A small smiled appeared on his lips.

“Are you going to kill me, Luna? Are you going to be so kind to an old friend?”

She wanted to kick him. Wanted to punch him. Wanted to shout at him that he had no right to ask for his own death, that he had a family who cared for him, friends who cared for him. She checked her thoughts. There was no time!

Something crashed downstairs and a manic laughter echoed through the house. Luna shuddered. She knew that laughter.

“Sobrietas” she murmured and flicked her wand.

George almost lurched out of his chair as a heavy sweat broke out over his whole body, purging the alcohol from his system. She’d have much preferred the head-clear-potion because it didn’t affect the organism quite as much, but as it were, the spell would have to do. 

“Merlin’s striped underpants”, George panted as he threw himself to the floor on all fours, dry-retching. “What is this?”

“Sobriety spell”, Luna said, listening as at least four pairs of feet stomped up the stairs. “You’ll get the worst hangover of your life in about ten seconds, but I need you in semi-working order for this and I am not letting you stand there and have the Death Eaters kill you off. I promised Ginny to get you out of here and I am getting you out of here, come what may. If you have any idea where your wand is, pick it up now!”

They started attacking the door. Luna knew the wards wouldn’t hold long. She looked out of the window, but they weren’t stupid, they had placed two guards in the back alley. They’d have to fight their way out. The odds were excruciatingly low. Two against six and one of the two not really in shape. 

“I promised to get you out” she repeated between clenched teeth, making sure she was in a good position to fire at the door as soon as it opened. “And I will get you out.”

 

~*~*~

 

The first Death Eater was hit into the chest with a well-aimed “stupefy” and knocked out as he hit his head on the doorframe. The second one stormed past him and saw his wand flying as George disarmed him. 

The third was ready for the attack though, and ducked under Luna’s second “stupefy” launching a cruciatus curse at her. A high wail escaped her throat, a battle-cry that would have been just as well suited for a medieval battlefield, as she directed one of the armchairs to smash into the guy. 

“Dolohov” her brain commented without being asked to. “His name’s Dolohov.”

He remained stuck under the piece of furniture just for a second, then let it explode into shards of wood that he directed into George’s direction, attacking the weaker target. 

Luna cursed under her breath as Bellatrix walked in, looking as if she was just entering the battle by chance. 

“Oh” she said when she saw Luna. “I expected to find Potter’s little female companion here.”

Luna smiled at her widely.

“I am so sorry to disappoint you” she said. “Sectumsempra!”

Bellatrix ducked away from the spell and it hit the wall behind her. Then she screamed. Fine. She’d made her mad now.

The green lightning of a killing curse rushed past Luna. At the same time she heard George stun Dolohov. 

“Oh, dear” Bellatrix said addressing the twin who looked even worse for wear than when Luna had walked in. “Look at you. The leftover twin. Why are you even fighting? It would be so much easier to give up. And imagine. You could meet your brother again.”   


“Bitch!” Luna shouted and suddenly, her rage was boiling. Nothing mattered. She hated this woman, hated her for everything she had ever done. “Crucio!” she shouted. 

For a split second, there was a surprised look on Bellatrix’ face. Then she wailed in agony as the spell took hold. Luna looked on as she tried to wind herself out of the invisible chains that were crushing her limbs. Her hand held her wand steady. No, she was not good. In this world, being good meant being dead soon. Screw morality!

It was George who finally took her wrist and made her lower her wand. Bellatrix lay sobbing and unable to move on the floor.

“Let’s get out of here” he said calmly. 

When she met his gaze she saw a mixture of awe, sadness and - fear? Was he afraid of her now that he had seen what she was capable of?

Two pairs of footsteps on the stairs. The guards from outside had heard the conundrum and were coming up to help.

Luna sighed.

“Party’s not over yet” she muttered, already readying her wand again, but George’s fingers interlaced with hers and he pulled her close.

“Trust me” he whispered.

 

~*~*~

 

A sharp crack, the feeling of being squeezed through a very narrow tube, and they were standing in a narrow alleyway that Luna had never seen before.

George swayed on his feet for a second, leaned against a wall and tried to breathe deeply to get rid of the queasiness apparition had brought with it.

“Thanks” Luna said and put a hand on his shoulder, squeezing lightly. “I didn’t know you could do side-by-side apparition.”

George turned around. He still looked pale and smelled like a homeless person, but something had returned into his eyes that had not been there when she had found him sad and suicidal in his flat.

“I didn’t know either”, he admitted. “I’m glad you arrived in one piece and none of our parts got mingled. Not very keen on doing it again though. Don’t want to test my luck.”

She shook her head.

“Only you’d be crazy enough to try side-by-side apparition for the first time after going through a self-destructive period, having the sobriety-spell put on you and encountering a bunch of Death Eaters in your flat.”

She looked around.

“Where are we?”

“Close to Knockturn Alley”, George said. “There’s a shop around the corner that sells cursed books, ivories that bite you when you want to put them in and other lovely things like basilisk-venom.”

“Charming”, Luna stated. “That means we’re not out of the danger-zone but close enough to one of the portkeys.”   


George looked at her and raised a brow.

“The survivors from the Order and the DA expected there’d come a time when we’d have to leg it. There are emergency portkeys set up all over muggle England. One of the London ones isn’t too far away from here.”

“All right”, George said, taking her hand. “Lead the way, boss!”

 

~*~*~

 

They got out of the wizarding area of the city without being caught or spotted. As Luna followed the route towards the portkey, she noticed how George was still holding her hand. As if that was a normal thing to do. Her heart beat a little faster, but she told herself, he probably just needed her touch as support. After all, he’d been ready to die just an hour ago. 

“It’s down there”, she said, pointing towards an abandoned building close to a small park. 

Right at that moment, a loud explosion shook the earth and the building sank to the ground in a cloud of dust and ash.

A couple of dark figures emerged from the site and pointed their wands to the sky, projecting the Dark Mark onto it. 

“I amend my statement”, Luna said tonelessly. “It was down there. The next one is in a tube station about a mile from here.”

For a second she was ready to give up. It was all becoming too much. Why couldn’t she just sit down on the floor and wait until the world ended? 

Suddenly George had his arms around her and pulled her against his chest, holding her close.

“Come on, Luna!” he murmured next to her ear. “You have to keep it together. If you don’t keep it together, I don’t think I will.”

She gulped and nodded, taking his hand again and leading him to the second portkey.

The tube station lay quiet. No explosion, no dark figures. No Dark Mark adorning the blue sky.

As they walked towards it, somebody appeared from another alley though, somebody that made them halt in their tracks and pull out their wands simultaneously.

“One more step and I’ll make sure you bleed to death for good this time”, Luna announced. 

Harry had told her about the sectumsempra incident in sixth year. She knew that it was deadly unless somebody as skilled as Severus Snape quickly rushed to the rescue.

Draco Malfoy shook his head and lifted his hands above his head. He had dropped his wand.

“Please” he said, his voice hardly more than a whisper. “I want to get out of here.”

She stared at him in disbelief.

“You are one of them!” 

He shook his head.

“I’m not. Well… not anymore. Not since… I didn’t want Harry dead. I didn’t want Hermione to die. Or Lavender. Not her. Never! I never wanted any of this. I only wanted my father out of Azkaban. I only wanted somebody to be proud of me.”

Luna took in the boy’s outer appearance. He wore his usual combination of black trousers and black shirt, but they looked as if he hadn’t changed them for a while. His leather shoes were speckled with dirt, his white-blonde hair unkempt. He looked like he hadn’t slept in days.

“This could be a trap” she said.

George squeezed her hand.

“It isn’t”, he said simply. 

“How can you be sure?”

He shrugged.

“Don’t know. Intuition? The fact that they’d be stupid to use him because we clearly know what he is?”

A small smile appeared on his face.

“And also because I once watched him snogging Lavender in the corridor on fourth floor and I actually believe that he never wanted her dead. If he even felt half as much for her as I do for you, he’d not want that.”

“You caught him doing what?” she asked trying to not let her brain process the second half of his answer.

“Yep. Fifth year. Surprise, surprise.”

Draco flinched. 

Luna bit her lip. Then she made a decision.

“Leave your wand”, she said. “And tear off half of your shirt sleeve.”

Draco stared at her.

“Sorry?”

She waved her wand impatiently.

“Do as I say! And quickly. I have no idea how long they’ll need to find out about this portkey and I want to be gone before they do.”

He seemed to understand what she was doing then and silently followed her instructions. Leave the wand, tear off some of his shirt and a few hairs. Then he cut open his hand and left a few drops of blood on the asphalt.

“We kidnapped you”, Luna explained and motioned for him to walk towards the escalator in front of them. “And we’re holding you hostage. It might not buy you enough time to rescue your father, but perhaps it will buy your mother enough time to escape.”

The portkey was a wellington boot that lay on the platform close to the dustbins. They gathered around it and held on to it. Right before the spinning sensations started, George locked eyes with Luna, making her heart lurch again.

 

~*~*~

 

Three weeks later they reached the new resistance headquarters in the Appalachian mountains. It was sad to realize how many had not been able to escape in time. But it was also good to see how many there were still left.

Ginny squealed when she saw her lost brother and threw her arms around him. Behind her, Charlie appeared as well and hugged him quickly, ending the affectionate gesture with a manly pat on the shoulder.

“Glad you made it out” he said grinning.

George nodded.

“The others?” he enquired.

“Mum and Dad are in Peru. They needed time away from all of this, but they are safe. Ron’s in the medical ward, because he almost got himself blown up, but he’s healing well enough even though he’s facing a life without eyebrows. Percy and Bill are on a secret mission to undermine some of the Death Eater plans. We’ve been busy here.”   


Luna greeted everyone she knew with her usual smiles and sweetness. When people asked how she had managed to escape and bring George with her, she told a brief tale that omitted six Death Eaters and one Draco Malfoy and made it all sound rather dull. 

When she finally found some space to breathe and sit in front of the house with George, eating stew that tasted like the best food she had ever had, her thoughts returned to Bellatrix. She had used one of the unforgivable curses! And she still didn’t regret it! Was she a monster now?

George unrolled a piece of enchanted parchment and looked it over with a frown.

“Draco’s found a hiding place” he summarized as the writing disappeared. “His mum is with him.”

Luna nodded.

They sat in silence for a while.

Then, George shuffled closer to her and put his arm around her shoulders.

“You know that you did something amazing, don’t you?”

“I promised to get you out.”

He shook his head.

“I don’t mean me. I mean, yes, I’m glad you came and saved me and Merlin knows you saved me in more ways than one, but… Draco. I don’t think many people would have been able to show as much mercy as you did. You are a good person, Luna.”

She shook her head, tears in her eyes.

“I am not good, George. I used an Unforgivable and I meant it. It felt good.”

George sighed, took her face into his hands and made her look into his eyes.

“That’s what’s been bugging you the whole time, isn’t it? The fact that you used the cruciatus on Bellatrix? She deserved worse than that in my opinion! We’re not faultless. None of us is. Being human brings that with it. You are incredible and kind and forgiving, Luna.”

“You looked as if you were scared of me.”

He pulled her into his arms, rocking her back and forth like a child.

“I was scared for my life. I was scared of dying right there. I was scared because that damn spell of yours had kicked in and I realized what was going on for the first time after living in a hazy mist for weeks. But believe me, Luna, I was never scared of you. You are good and fierce and strong and sometimes completely crazy and I love you for it. I have loved you since before this whole world started falling apart and if you let me, I’ll love you until it either can be glued together again or disintegrates into a pile of dust.”

She needed a few seconds before his words had sunk in.

“Are you in earnest?” she asked. “Because if you’re making fun of me…”

Instead of letting her speak any further, he turned her around in his arms and kissed her. Luna remembered how it had felt to kiss him after that dinner invitation. Back then, his lips had been playful, his touch almost mocking. Now he kissed like a person who had looked death in the face and wasn’t willing to play anymore. 

Neither of them knew what lay ahead, whether they would survive or die, whether they would ever live without fear again. But in this very moment, it didn’t matter. 

 

THE END


End file.
